Portland Timbers today unveiled their third kit, an outfit meant to evoke the great history of the club while bringing a clean, modern look to the pitch in 2012. As Darlington Nagbe and David Horst strutted out on stage wearing their all-white kits, cameras bulbs flashed and iPhone videos captured the latest of adidas’ work in Portland. As part of the roll out of the new kits, FC Media is proud to have aided the Timbers in researching and chronicling the club’s sartorial history in two articles on PortlandTimbers.com. As the club continues down the path of referencing and displaying their history, FC Media aims to be at the fore, providing context, content and design to complement the club’s plans.

Regarding the kit itself, the Timbers, adidas and Alaska Airlines worked together to combine historic elements and modern technology to create a kit that is already receiving praise across the world. The earliest Timbers kit, the inaugural uniforms worn in 1975, was the starting point for the development of the 2012/13 third kit.

That plain white shirt with green numbers and stripes is reflected directly in today’s unveiling. Moving past the first season, adidas incorporated their cursive script and green collars from their famous 1981 kits. The script can be found on a jock tag on the front and across the shoulders, above the name plates, on the back. Alaska Air got involved by altering their shirt sponsorship to the font used in their livery when the airline debuted jet service to Portland in 1979. Elsewhere, subtle additions of green and gold retain the club’s historic colors without encroaching upon the all-white look. White shorts and socks, both with green stripes, join the shirt in an outfit that keep Portland above all other MLS cities in kit design and execution.

FC Media has several kit history projects underway and will share those soon.